Previewing the Texas Longhorns: Part II - Defense and Special Teams
by AHMB on Sep 15, 2011 11:00 AM PDT
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We've already begun our Texas preview, starting with the Coaching and Offense here. Defensively, Texas returns seven starters. It did, however, lose it’s two best penetrators, Sam Acho and Eddie Jones, who combined for 15 sacks and 27 tackles for loss last season. The loss has been felt early, as the defensive line has only posted 1 sack and 1.5 tackles for loss through the first two games of the season. As a team, Texas has 8 tackles for loss and 1 sack this season. The defense has, however, been very good at stuffing the run and is allowing only 3.26 yards per carry. They’ve been equally good against the pass, giving up only 143 yards per game.
Defensive Line
Texas starts Jr. Alex Okafor and So. Jackson Jeffcoat at defensive end, while So. Ashton Dorsey and Sr. Kheeston Randall start inside. Okafor and Jeffcoat are not particularly big, 6’5 260 lbs. and 6’5 253 lbs., respectively, but they are both former 5 star recruits who play bigger than their size. So. Reggie Wilson, 6’3 252 lbs., yet another 5 star defensive end who will serve as the primary back-up along with Jr. Dravanti Johnson, 6’2 255 lbs., who is the only end on the two deep who was not a 5 star recruit (he was a 4 star, in case you’re wondering).
Dorsey and Randall may not be as heralded as the ends (4 star and 3 star, respectively), but they bring solid size in the middle. Dorsey, 6’2 295 lbs., is the penetrating tackle, while Randall, 6’5 295 lbs., will play the nose. They are backed up by 5 star true Fr. Desmond Jackson, 6’1 285 lbs., and So. Calvin Howell, 6’4 290 lbs., a former 4 star recruit, who will both see plenty of time in the defensive line rotation.
Linebackers
Texas returns starters Sr. Emmanuel Acho on the strong outside, and Sr. Keenan Robinson in the middle. They both bring good size, Acho at 6’2 240 lbs. and Robinson at 6’3 235 lbs. and have both been very productive this season. Acho has registered 21 tackles and Robinson has made 13. The weakside position is manned by So. Jordan Hicks, 6’2 228 lbs., who has tallied 15 tackles this season. Of the three, Hicks is the most talented. He is a 5 star recruit who saw action last year as a true freshmen.
Acho and Robinson will be backed up by Fr. Steve Edomond, 6’3 255 lbs., a linebacker capable of playing both inside and outside, and Fr. Kendall Thompson, 6’3 237 lbs., a highly recruited 4 star who has steadily rose up the depth chart. Also look for RS Fr.. Tevin Jackson, 6’2 230 lbs., who is a former 4 star recruit getting some early action this year. Hicks will be backed up by RS Fr. Aaron Benson, 6’2 233 lbs., another 4 star recruit backing up on this Longhorn defense.
Secondary
The clear leader of the inexperienced secondary is Sr. Blake Gideon. The 6’1 205 lbs. strong safety has developed into a nice safety in his years in Austin as he watched fellow, more talented teammates bolt to the NFL. Gideon will be backed up by Jr. Nolan Brewster, who returns from injury. The 6’2 205 lbs. safety is much more adept that playing the run than the pass, so look to see him in the game during clear rushing downs.
The free safety spot will be manned by Jr. Kenny Vaccaro. The 6’1 214 lbs. safety has excellent speed and range, and is a very big hitter. Vaccaco will be backed up by two true freshment Mykkele Thompson, 6’2 185 lbs., and Sheroid Evans, 6’0 185 lbs.
Safety is not the only spot which Texas will use true freshmen. Fr. Quandre Diggs, 5’10 200 lbs., will start at cornerback along with true So. Carrington Byndom, 6’0 180 lbs. Both are former 4 star recruits, but lack much game experience. Byndom did play in all 12 games last season as a reserve, but this is his first starting experience. Texas will use true So. Adrian Phillips, 5’11 199 lbs., as nickel. Phillips was also used last season as a reserve. We should also see true freshmen Josh Turner, 6’0 177lbs., Leroy Scott, 5’10 193 lbs., and So. A.J. White, 6’0 180 lbs, all of which are former 4 star recruits.
Special Teams
Sr. Justin Tucker will perform both kicking and punting duties. He is a perfect 3-3 on field goal attempts and is averaging 38.67 yards per punt. Last season his punts were a little better, 41.86 yards per punt as he split punting duties.
Fr. Jaxon Shipley, Jr. Marquise Goodwin, and Jr. DJ Monroe will perform return duties. They are all athletic return men capable of housing a return at any time. As freshmen, Monroe and Goodwin both took kickoffs back for touchdowns, but no Texas returner has scored a touchdown since 2009.
That concludes Part II of the Texas preview. Fire away with any additional thoughts and comments. I would particularly like to hear from any of you who actually watched any of Texas' first two games.
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Not saying Texas' secondary isn't going to be tough, of course
But our coaches have to find a way to exploit our supposedly-experienced receiving corps. I might be crazy, but I foresee a big day for Fauria even if its just being double-teamed :-)
I agree.
Neither Rice nor BYU has been able to do so (BYU threw for 192 yards and 2 interceptions on 38 attempts while Rice only gained 92 yards on 30 attempts). BYU played a decent first half, but Texas clamped down in the second half and really shut BYU down.
Texas’ secondary may be inexperienced, but they are all very, very talented. I hope CRN and Co. have been saving some nice PA packages for R. Carroll to try and catch Texas’ secondary looking into the backfield. Besides attacking their inexperience, we do have a size advantage. Rosario and Fauria should be able to win jump balls.
Formerly AllHailMightyBruins
I don't think Fauria can be double teamed.
He’s so tall, he be getting double teamed at waist level, but with his hands over his head, he’s in single coverage every time.
It cool...
ebonics is a recognized dialect. Obamacs OTOH…not so much.
by GogetemBruins on Sep 15, 2011 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions
OT: When to go for it on 4th
Saw this article on SI today regarding a Coach Kevin Kelley who does not believe in going for it on 4th down. Coincidentally his team is also the “Bruins”.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/scorecasting/09/15/kelley.pulaski/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
It appears Coach Kelley has taken a statistical approach to his play calling and realized that punting is not winning. I really want CRN to be successful and look forward to our Bruins dominating Texas on Saturday at the Rose Bowl!
Well, I did watch the BYU game
and I read the games notes on Rice. They did have some contain problems against BYU, but they really tightened up in the second half. It is noticeable that Texas has dominated the fourth quarter in both games, holding the two opponents to 50 yards of total offense. That is pretty impressive. Mack Brown said that they had emphasized strength and conditioning during the summer, and I believe it. They are also substituting pretty freely. Their defense looks a lot more solid to me than last year’s. Still, BYU had one long drive against them. From what I have read, they expect us to run at them as we did last year, which means that we have to have a balanced attack, so I am glad that our passing offense has improved. We will need it. We can win this game.
Yes we definitely can win this game
we have the horses. But are we going to? That’s the issue here
+1
Do we have any Play Action plays in the books? We are going to need some trick plays to our speed wr’s to keep their defense honest. They the run plays will open up the whole field. Can’t hardly wait for the game. Go Bruins.
I used to "couldn't hardly wait for the game"
now with the way things are, I just dread it. It’s like waiting for another big accident to happen.
As many of you know...
I went to Cal for undergrad and UCLA film school for my MFA degree. I root for both teams (and since all of my checks were written to “UC Regents,” I figure it’s okay.) And I grew up a UCLA fan living here in Los Angeles, to the great consternation of my USC uncle. Anyway, in the midst of that terrible win (yeah, I put it that way) against San Jose St., I began thinking back to what made me like UCLA football in the first place. And it come back to me: Dr. Death.
Back when I was a kid, UCLA had a player named Oscar Edwards, aka Dr. Death. He was so damn cool I couldn’t tell you. He hit you hell hard, but the best thing was that he had a black towel with skull and cross bones on it, the coolest damn thing I’d ever seen on a football field. Remembering that, I then started thinking about how UCLA used to be the team that bullied others on the field, not getting bullied. They were always bigger, faster, and hit harder. When UCLA has players like Dr. Death back on the squad, they’ll start winning regularly.
Lawrence Ross
Any potential
Dr. Death players on this team?
great story by the way
by robotchampion on Sep 15, 2011 7:59 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't see one.
I see a LOT of talent, but there’s no one on the team who everyone else is afraid of failing. You have to have a player who is so bad ass, so 1000 percent, that his teammates are scared of not going all out. Dr. Death played at the same time with Kenny Easley in the d backfield. Could you imagine letting those players down? If I remember, Jerry Robinson was a linebacker.
We often put too much emphasis on recruiting ranks, but the reality is that teams are built around how well skilled players play together, while also forging a will to win. The Bruins today remind me of that old Boston Red Sox adage of separate taxi cabs for each player. And that’s why CRN is so frustrated. Honestly, he can only do so much. Players have to be accountable to each other and drive each other to higher standards.
If I looked at the team, the running backs seem to have the most heart. Both Franklin and Coleman run HARD every time they get the ball. But after that, it’s dodgy.
Lawrence Ross
There was
Ed O’Bannon in basketball. No one lately in football.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
During our time
Eric Turner was an amazing hitter. Donnie Edwards was not too shabby. We also had Jamir Miller, Othello Henderson, George “Psycho” Case, Brian Wilmer, Travis Kirschke who were also pretty solid hitters.
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